Wendy Ladner-Beaudry memorial

So many people came to Wendy’s memorial yesterday with memories and thoughts of her life, it was hard for us reporters to put it all in one story or to capture all of the emotion in the room, though we were trying. Here’s my story. My friend, Kelly Sinoski from the Vancouver Sun, also wrote a lovely one. And here’s another take from Canadian Press.

What many of us didn’t get into our stories was the sense that people who came to the celebration were sparked by Wendy’s death to express their closeness to the still living. Husbands and wives held each other’s hands tightly; mothers and daughters stood with their arms around each other; friends hugged. Her death, so mysterious and senseless, reminds all of us that life can end too abruptly, before we’ve had a chance to let people know how much they mean to us.